The design of an adjustable-protrusion surface-obstacle (APSO) skin friction vector gage is presented. Results from exploratory calibrations conducted in laminar and turbulent boundary layers at the Washington University Low-Speed Wind Tunnel and for turbulent boundary layers at speeds up to Mach 2 on the ceiling of the NASA Glenn Research Center 8- X 6-ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel are also discussed. The adjustable-height gage was designed to yield both the magnitude and direction of the surface shear stress vector and to measure the local static pressure distribution. Results from the NASA test show good correlation for subsonic and low supersonic conditions covering several orders of magnitude in terms of the adopted similarity variables. Recommendations for future work in this area consist of identifying the physical parameters responsible for the disagreement between the university and NASA data sets, developing a compressibility correction specific to the APSO geometry, and examining the effect that static pressure distribution and skewed boundary layers have on the results from the APSO.

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews